Astranoir

Recently, Ryan saw a shop called Midtown Olive Press in The Shops at Friendly Center. It sounded like an interesting place to go, and I filed it away in my mind as a treat to splurge on when I had more money. To my delight, there was a recent Groupon for Midtown Olive Press ($9 for $18 voucher), so I bought one with the intent to see what the shop is like.

This Saturday, Ryan and I stopped by Midtown Olive Press to assess the experience, and the products.

The shop is set up with rows of small fustis (apparently small kegs). They have plastic sample cups, and cubes of bread so you can try the product. I knew I wanted something simple since I was looking to rebuild my pantry. The atmosphere was very pleasant, and the employees were very friendly. If you are the type of person who does not like it when the employees talk to you a lot and try to guide your experience, you might not want to go here (or at least let them know you’d like to look on your own). I was glad they were so hands-on since I was not familiar with the shop and what/how we were allowed to sample.

Once you choose your products and your size (small, medium, large), they bottle the product, seal it, and wrap it for you.

I ended up choosing a medium bottle of garlic olive oil, a small bottle of 18-year balsamic vinegar, and 2 basic stoppers.

Overall, the experience was very pleasant. They are as pricey as I would expect from a place with a wide variety of gourmet oils and vinegars, but it was definitely a fantastic deal with the Groupon. I was disappointed to find they import their product from California rather than pressing anything locally (it’s called an olive press…), but the quality seems quite good.

This Friday, I went off another recipe from Skinny Taste, this time for “Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps.” As usual, I made a lot of changes.

Bee’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced
1/8 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp sesame oil
1/8 cup white vinegar
1 tsp sugar
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 packet Maruchan ramen Oriental seasoning packet (I would have used the garlic, scallions, and the extra sauces from the original recipe, but I forgot to buy them, so I used what I had around the house)
12 romaine lettuce leaves (mine were of varying sizes, which worked out fine)
1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts
1 cup match sticked carrots (about 3 small carrots)
1 cup match sticked zuchinni (about 1/2 small zuchinni)
Sriracha sauce as desired (red chili sauce)

Directions

1. Combine ground chicken, shitake mushrooms, and celery in a bowl.

2. Begin heating 1-2 Tbsp of sesame oil in your pan (I used a kawali (Filipino wok), but any wok or frying pan should work well) using medium heat.

3. Combine remaining sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and at least half the ramen seasoning packet.

4. Pour the sauce over the chicken mixture and allow to marinate for at least 10 minutes.

5. Carefully transfer the chicken mixture to the hot pan (it may pop and sizzle a bit from the moisture).

6. Brown the chicken mixture, incorporating the remaining ramen seasoning and black pepper as it finishes cooking.

7. Serve the chicken and fresh vegetables, allowing people to add the desired amount to their romaine leaf.

8. Add any sauces you enjoy, such as Sriracha sauce.

9. Wrap the leaf around your filling and enjoy!